Ellen’s Comments (group member since Jan 02, 2018)

Ellen’s comments from the Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge group.

I read The Pull of the Stars this year and loved it, it would definitely work for this. It's about a nurse working the maternity ward of an Ireland hospital during the 1918 pandemic.

Built to Last is a romance about a home improvemnt/makeover show with two former child stars. It's not set in Hollywood, it's set in Michigan, but it's about the making of a tv show so I feel like it could count. I read it this year and really loved it so I def recommend!

Regular: 39/40

1. A book you meant to read in 2022 - The Family Game
2. A book you bought from an independent bookstore
3. A book about a vacation - My Killer Vacation
4. A book by a first-time author - The Writing Retreat
5. A book with mythical creatures - My Best Friend's Exorcism
6. A book about a forbidden romance - An Offer From a Gentleman
7. A book with "Girl" in the title - An Anonymous Girl
8. A celebrity memoir - I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are
9. A book with a color in the title - The Golden Spoon
10. A romance with a fat lead - Weather Girl
11. A book about or set in Hollywood - How to Fake It in Hollywood
12. A book published in spring 2023 - Romantic Comedy
13. A book published the year you were born - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
14. A modern retelling of a classic - Demon Copperhead
15. A book with a song lyric as its title - Watching You
16. A book where the main character's name is in the title - Minerva Keen's Detective Club
17. A book with a love triangle - In My Dreams I Hold a Knife
18. A book that's been banned or challenged in any state in 2022 - A Court of Thorns and Roses
19. A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past challenge - Interior Chinatown
20. A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2023 - Dark Matter
21. A book set in the decade you were born - Memphis
22. A book with a queer lead - Boyfriend Material
23. A book with a map - Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
24. A book with a rabbit on the cover - Bunny
25. A book with just text on the cover - I Have Some Questions for You
26. The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list - A Wedding Thing
27. A #BookTok recommendation - Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
28. A book you bought secondhand - Meet Me at the Lake
29. A book your friend recommended - Fourth Wing
30. A book that's on a celebrity book-club list - Yellowface
31. A book about a family - Things We Do in the Dark
32. A book that comes out in the second half of 2023 - Midnight Is the Darkest Hour
33. A book about an athlete/sport - Carrie Soto Is Back
34. A historical-fiction book - Homecoming
35. A book about divorce - The Villa
36. A book you think your best friend would like - The Four Winds
37. A book you should have read in high school - Vampire Academy
38. A book you read more than 10 years ago - Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
39. A book you wish you could read for the first time again - Book Lovers
40. A book by an author with the same initials as you - Genuine Fraud

Advanced: 9/10

41. A book written during NaNoWriMo - Evvie Drake Starts Over
42. A book based on a popular movie - If the Shoe Fits
43. A book that takes place entirely in one day - Horrorstör
44. A book that was self-published
45. A book that started out as fan fiction - The Dead Romantics
46. A book with a pet character - Confessions
47. A book about a holiday that's not Christmas - The Unhoneymooners
48. A book that features two languages - The Maidens
49. The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list - The Rose Code
50. A book with alliteration in the title - Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Stephanie wrote: "Ellen wrote: "I'm trying to fit in all my unread Book of the Month books this year. If anyone has suggestions for what prompts they'd fit I would appreciate it!

[book:The Book of Cold Cases|583714..."

Thank you!

Katrina wrote: "I was just wondering how strictly we are holding to the categories? I am wanting to use Act Your Age, Eve Brown for 43. Palindrome in the title. Do you think this is allowable or is..."

I am planning on using that book for the same prompt!

I'm trying to fit in all my unread Book of the Month books this year. If anyone has suggestions for what prompts they'd fit I would appreciate it!

The Book of Cold Cases
The Paris Apartment
The Lincoln Highway
Razorblade Tears
People We Meet on Vacation
The Lost Apothecary
Anxious People
Head Over Heels
A Good Marriage
The Ex Hex (other than book with witches)

Thank you!

REGULAR - 40/40

1. A book published in 2022 - The House Across the Lake
2. A book set on a plane, train, or cruise ship - Shipped
3. A book about or set in a nonpatriarchal society - Woman World
4. A book with a tiger on the cover or "tiger" in the title - The Tiger Came to the Mountains
5. A sapphic book - Upright Women Wanted
6. A book by a Latinx author - The House on Mango Street
7. A book with an onomatopoeia in its title - Cloud Cuckoo Land
8. A book with a protagonist who uses a mobility aid - The Final Girl Support Group
9. A book about a "found family" - Anxious People
10. An Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner - Sing, Unburied, Sing
11. A #BookTok recommendation - 99 Percent Mine
12. A book about the afterlife - The Book of Cold Cases
13. A book set in the 1980s - The Sun Down Motel
14. A book with cutlery on the cover or in the title - My Lovely Wife
15. A book by a Pacific Islander author - Quiet in Her Bones
16. A book about witches - The Ex Hex
17. A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2022 - Anatomy of a Scandal
18. A romance novel by a BIPOC author - Take a Hint, Dani Brown
19. A book that takes place during your favorite season - Truly Devious
20. A book whose title begins with the last letter of your previous read - The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires
21. A book about a band or musical group - Built to Last
22. A book with a character on the ace spectrum - The Love Hypothesis
23. A book with a recipe in it - The Lost Apothecary
24. A book you can read in one sitting - Poison for Breakfast
25. A book about a secret - Pretty Girls
26. A book with a misleading title - Beach Read
27. A Hugo Award winner - Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation
28. A book set during a holiday - People We Meet on Vacation
29. A different book by an author you read in 2021 - Reckless Girls
30. A book with the name of a board game in the title - Rock Paper Scissors
31. A book featuring a man-made disaster - Once There Were Wolves
32. A book with a quote from your favorite author on the cover or Amazon page - The Turn of the Key
33. A social-horror book - When No One Is Watching
34. A book set in Victorian times - Bringing Down the Duke
35. A book with a constellation on the cover or in the title - The Pull of the Stars
36. A book you know nothing about - The Golden Couple
37. A book about gender identity - Felix Ever After
38. A book featuring a party - A Good Marriage
39. An #OwnVoices SFF (science fiction and fantasy) book - The School for Good Mothers
40. A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - The Echo Wife

ADVANCED - 10/10

41. A book with a reflected image on the cover or "mirror" in the title - The Night She Disappeared
42. A book that features two languages - The Paris Apartment
43. A book with a palindromic title - Act Your Age, Eve Brown
44. A duology (1) - The Family Upstairs
45. A duology (2) - The Family Remains
46. A book about someone leading a double life - A Flicker in the Dark
47. A book featuring a parallel reality - The 22 Murders of Madison May
48. A book with two POVs - The Perfect Marriage
49. Two books set in twin towns, aka "sister cities" (1) - The Spanish Love Deception
50. Two books set in twin towns, aka "sister cities" (2) - Hamnet

2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge

REGULAR

Completed: 40/40

1. A book that published in 2021 - The Sanatorium
2. An Afrofuturist book - Kindred
3. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover - Meet Cute
4. A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign - Plain Bad Heroines
5. A dark academia book - Ninth House
6. A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title - The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
7. A book where the main character works at your current or dream job - Verity
8. A book that has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction - Piranesi
9. A book with a family tree - The Duke and I
10. A bestseller from the 1990s - Survive the Night
11. A book about forgetting - Final Girls
12. A book you have seen on someone’s bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.) - The Last Mrs. Parrish
13. A locked-room mystery - The Hunting Party
14. A book set in a restaurant - The Dinner
15. A book with a black-and-white cover - Behind Her Eyes
16. A book by an indigenous author- Elatsoe
17. A book that has the same title as a song - Leave the World Behind
18. A book about a subject you are passionate about - The House in the Cerulean Sea
19. A book that discusses body positivity - One to Watch
20. A book on a Black Lives Matter reading list - Punching the Air
21. A genre hybrid - My Contrary Mary
22. A book set mostly or entirely outdoors - The Book of Longings
23. A book with something broken on the cover - The Wife Upstairs
24. A book by a Muslim American author - Hana Khan Carries On
25. A book that was published anonymously - The Last Time I Lied
26. A book with an oxymoron in the title - Second First Impressions
27. A book about do-overs or fresh starts - Lock Every Door
28. A magical realism book - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
29. A book set in multiple countries - Impostor Syndrome
30. A book set somewhere you’d like to visit in 2021 - The Perfect Nanny
31. A book by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube video creator, or other online personality - How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems
32. A book whose title starts with “Q,” “X,” or “Z” - Queenie
33. A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child) - The Time Traveler's Wife
34. A book about a social justice issue - Malibu Rising
35. A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels) - Daisy Jones & The Six
36. A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads - The Governess Game
37. A book you think your best friend would like - Get a Life, Chloe Brown
38. A book about art or an artist - The Night Swim
39. A book everyone seems to have read but you - The Push
40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - The Viscount Who Loved Me

ADVANCED

Completed: 10/10

41. The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list - The Great Alone
42. The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list - Convenience Store Woman
43. The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover - The Inheritance Games
44. The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover - The Duchess Deal
45. The book that’s been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time - The Hawthorne Legacy
46. A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn’t - Layla
47. A book from your TBR list you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing - The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
48. A book from your TBR list chosen at random - In a Dark, Dark Wood
49. A DNF book from your TBR list - A Gentleman in Moscow
50. A free book from your TBR list (gifted, borrowed, library) - The Wallflower Wager

I was thinking of reading Supernova. It has superheroes in it with special powers, including one character who is partially made with the metal Chromium which seemed cyborg-adjacent to me...I already read all the Cinder series and was thinking of bending the prompt a little to make Supernova fit but I'm not sure. What do people think about this?

2020 Challenge - Regular Prompts

Read: 38/40

1. A book that's published in 2020 - Big Summer
2. A book by a trans or nonbinary author - Magic for Liars
3. A book with a great first line - An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
4. A book about a book club - Home Before Dark
5. A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics
6. A bildungsroman - I'll Meet You There
7. The first book you touch on a shelf with your eyes closed - The Underground Railroad
8. A book with an upside-down image on the cover - The Starless Sea
9. A book with a map - Siege and Storm
10. A book recommended by your favorite blog, vlog, podcast, or online book club - The Guest List
11. An anthology - Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy
12. A book that passes the Bechdel test - When Dimple Met Rishi
13. A book with the same title as a movie or TV show but is unrelated to it - The Last Anniversary
14. A book by an author with flora or fauna in their name - The Wedding Date
15. A book about or involving social media - You
16. A book that has a book on the cover
17. A medical thriller - The Wonder
18. A book with a made-up language - Shadow and Bone
19. A book set in a country beginning with "C" - Station Eleven
20. A book you picked because the title caught your attention - Bottle Grove
21. A book published the month of your birthday - The Mother-in-Law
22. A book about or by a woman in STEM - The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy
23. A book that won an award in 2019 - The Silent Patient
24. A book on a subject you know nothing about - Outrun the Moon
25. A book with only words on the cover, no images or graphics - Summer Skin
26. A book with a pun in the title
27. A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins - Unwind
28. A book with a robot, cyborg, or AI character - Supernova
29. A book with a bird on the cover - King of Scars
30. A fiction or nonfiction book about a world leader - The Wrath and the Dawn
31. A book with "gold," "silver," or "bronze" in the title - Silver Girl
32. A book by a WOC - The Bride Test
33. A book with at least a four-star rating on Goodreads - The Indigo Girl
34. A book you meant to read in 2019 - The Bear and the Nightingale
35. A book with a three-word title - Ruin and Rising
36. A book with a pink cover - Well Met
37. A Western - My Calamity Jane
38. A book by or about a journalist - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
39. Read a banned book during Banned Books Week - In Cold Blood
40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - The Lake Effect

2020 Challenge - Advanced prompts

Read: 8/10

1. A book written by an author in their 20s - Purple Hibiscus
2. A book with "20" or "twenty" in the title - Twenties Girl
3. A book with a character with a vision impairment or enhancement (a nod to 20/20 vision) - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
4. The first book you touch on a shelf with your eyes closed - book:Pachinko|34051011]
5. A book set in the 1920s -
6. A book by an author who has written more than 20 books - The Emerald Circus
7. A book with more than 20 letters in its title - A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
8. A book published in the 20th century - From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
9. A book from a series with more than 20 books - The Secret of the Old Clock
10. A book with a main character in their 20s - You'd Be Mine

Read 53/53

2019 Popsugar Reading Challenge

1. A book becoming a movie in 2019 - The Nightingale
2. A book that makes you nostalgic - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
3. A book written by a musician (fiction or nonfiction) - The Poisonwood Bible
4. A book you think should be turned into a movie - The Basic Eight
5. A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
6. A book with a plant in the title or on the cover - The Husband's Secret
7. A reread of a favorite book - The Little Prince
8. A book about a hobby - Wildcard
9. A book you meant to read in 2018 - Howl's Moving Castle
10. A book with POP, SUGAR, or CHALLENGE in the title - Sugar Cookie Murder
11. A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover - Exit, Pursued by a Bear
12. A book inspired by myth/legend/folklore - A Darker Shade of Magic
13. A book published posthumously - Persuasion
14. A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie - Carrie
15. A retelling of a classic - Brightly Burning
16. A book with a question in the title - Where'd You Go, Bernadette
17. A book set on college or university campus - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
18. A book about someone with a superpower - Vengeful
19. A book told from multiple POVs - Archenemies
20. A book set in space - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
21. A book by two female authors - Skim
22. A book with SALTY, SWEET, BITTER, or SPICY in the title - Salt to the Sea
23. A book set in Scandinavia - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
24. A book that takes place in a single day - Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
25. A debut novel - Where the Crawdads Sing
26. A book that's published in 2019 - Please Send Help
27. A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature - An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
28. A book recommended by a celebrity you admire - Egghead; or, You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone
29. A book with LOVE in the title - My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories
30. A book featuring an amateur detective - The Witch Elm
31. A book about a family - Broken Harbor
32. A book author from Asia, Africa, or South America - Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
33. A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in title -Nancy Drew: The Palace of Wisdom
34. A book that includes a wedding - Sense and Sensibility
35. A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter - Renegades
36. A ghost story - Anna Dressed in Blood
37. A book with a two-word title - The Goldfinch
38. A novel based on a true story - The Tattooist of Auschwitz
39. A book revolving around a puzzle or game - The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
40. Your favorite prompt from the 2015 POPSUGAR Reading challenge: a book by an author you've never read before - The Kiss Quotient
41. Your favorite prompt from the 2016 POPSUGAR Reading challenge: a book with nonhuman characters - The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
42. Your favorite prompt from the 2017 POPSUGAR Reading challenge: a book set in two different time periods - Vicious
43. Your favorite prompt from the 2018 POPSUGAR Reading challenge: a book by an author of a different ethnicity than you - There There

Advanced
44. A "cli-fi" (climate fiction) book - Legend
45. A "choose-your-own-adventure" book - My Lady's Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel
46. An "own voices" book - Between the World and Me
47. Read a book during the season it is set in - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
48. A LitRPG book - Warcross
49. A book with no chapters / unusual chapter headings / unconventionally numbered chapters - The Princess Bride
50. Two books that share the same title - The Lying Game
51. Two books that share the same title - The Lying Game
52. A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom - The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
53. A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent - Murder at the Vicarage

I think I'm going to to AYT, too. But I think Popsugar will be my priority, since I don't love some of the AYT prompts. And I'm going to try and double count books for both challenges since I typically read 52 books a year. I hope PS puts out the challenge soon, I'm itching to start planning for it!

2018 Popsugar Reading Challenge

1. A book made into a movie you've already seen - Push
2. True Crime - I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
3. The next book in a series you started - Crooked Kingdom
4. A book involving a heist - Six of Crows
5. Nordic noir - The Girl Who Played with Fire
6. A novel based on a real person - My Lady Jane
7. A book set in a country that fascinates you - All the Light We Cannot See
8. A book with a time of day in the title - The Night Circus
9. A book about a villain or antihero - Vicious
10. A book about death or grief - The Trespasser
11. A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym - The Cuckoo's Calling
12. A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist - The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
13. A book that is also a stage play or musical - Hamilton: The Revolution
14. A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you - And the Mountains Echoed
15. A book about feminism - The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution
16. A book about mental health - Turtles All the Way Down
17. A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift - My Plain Jane
18. A book by two authors - I Hate Everyone But You
19. A book about or involving a sport - Quidditch Through the Ages
20. A book by a local author - The First Rule of Punk
21. A book with your favorite color in the title - Greenglass House
22. A book with alliteration in the title - Magpie Murders
23. A book about time travel - Outlander
24. A book with a weather element in the title - Snow Falling
25. A book set at sea - The Woman in Cabin 10
26. A book with an animal in the title - Water for Elephants
27. A book set on a different planet - Wires and Nerve, Volume 1
28. A book with song lyrics in the title - Heartless
29. A book about or set on Halloween - Something Wicked This Way Comes
30. A book with characters who are twins - Identical
31. A book mentioned in another book - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
32. A book from a celebrity book club - Truly Madly Guilty
33. A childhood classic you've never read - Danny the Champion of the World
34. A book that's published in 2018 - Gone Rogue
35. A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two
36. A book set in the decade you were born - Little Fires Everywhere
37. A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to - Echo
38. A book with an ugly cover - The Girl Before
39. A book that involves a bookstore or library - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
40. Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges (a book with a one-word title) Puddin'

2018 Popsugar Advanced Reading Challenge

1. A bestseller from the year you graduated high school - Wonder
2. A cyberpunk book - Ready Player One
3. A book that was being read by a stranger in a public place - Caraval
4. A book tied to your ancestry - Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
5. A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title -The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
6. An allegory - Lord of the Flies
7. A book by an author with the same first or last name as you - Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me
8. A microhistory - The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
9. A book about a problem facing society today - The Hate U Give
10. A book recommended by someone else taking the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - One for the Money

I read I Hate Everyone But You which was a good and quick YA!

I listened to The Night Circus on audiobook which I would definitely recommend. It's narrated by Jim dale who also did the Harry Potter audiobooks (or one version of them) and he's amazing.

My name is Ellen. I was going to listen to one of Ellen's audiobooks, but they were super backed up at the library and it was gonna take a while. I already had Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me on my list so I read that instead since it was quick because it's a graphic novel.

I read Turtles All the Way Down and really liked it!

I just finished Outlander and loved it!

I read All the Light We Cannot See and it was amazing! Not gonna lie, I read it and then tried to figure out where it could fit and this was sort of the only category that worked. But it's set in Germany and France and pretty much any country other than America (where I live) fascinates me, so it works!

Not sure if anyone's mentioned this and may be a bit of a stretch, but I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2. It is labeled as Harry Potter #8 on goodreads!